Tauck Adds More Suites to 2014 Vessels

The Details

Tauck has announced that the two new riverboats it will be launching in Europe next year will each have 57 percent more suites than the company’s existing Jewel-class vessels.

The two newbuilds, the Savor and the Inspire, which make up Tauck’s new Inspiration-class ships, will each have 22, 300-square-foot suites. In comparison, the Jewel-class ships each have 14 suites. The increase in numbers is due in part to the greater length of the Inspiration class — 443 feet long compared to 361 feet for the Jewel-class ships. However, Tauck is also increasing the overall percentage of suites on the newbuilds, from 24 percent to 33 percent.

“Our guests travel with Tauck because they demand a superior experience, and that same insistence on having ‘the best’ drives very high demand for suites aboard our riverboats,” said CEO Dan Mahar. “Our suites are always the first cabins to sell out on our Jewel-class ships, even though the Jewel-class vessels already have far more suites than most other riverboats. When we sat down to develop our new Inspiration-class ships, it only made sense to raise the number of suites even higher.”

All of the suites on the Savor and Inspire will be located on the ships’ Diamond Decks, and each will be furnished with a pullout couch, roomy walk-in closest with built-in drawers, spacious marble bath with his-and-her sinks, two French balconies with floor-to-ceiling windows and brocade upholstery.

Besides the suites, the newbuilds will also have 32, 225-square-foot cabins, plus an additional thirteen cabins ranging from 150 to 190 square feet. All suites and cabins will have in-room movies, minibar, Molton Brown toiletries, and plush bedding with 100 percent goose down pillows, 400-thread-count linens and pillow-top mattresses.

Eight of the 225-square-foot cabins on each newbuild will be located on the lower Emerald deck, and will feature a loft design with a raised platform seating area. Located against the ship’s hull or outer wall, each seating area will have a small table with two chairs, plus a raised ceiling that allows the use of a much taller window than can normally be incorporated into lower-level cabins. The upper portion of this window can be opened for fresh air, and being taller, the window will allow far more natural light to fill the cabin.

Public areas will include a main dining room that can accommodate all guests in a single open seating, plus a second, more casual dining venue with a retractable, wrap-around glass wall at the stern of the Diamond Deck. Each ship will also have a cocktail lounge, a fitness center, a spa, a hair salon, bicycles for use on shore and a Sun Deck with a jacuzzi available 24 hours.

Tauck is also expanding its river cruising outreach to the travel agent community with the appointment of Mary Murrin as the company’s first Business Development Manager – River and Small Ship Cruising. A Tauck cruise director onboard the company’s riverboats for five years prior to assuming her new role, Murrin is a travel industry veteran who has also worked with Ritz-Carlton and in events management. In her new position, she will focus on agent and consumer education and represent Tauck at cruise-related conferences and other events.